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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · bay · drill · perch · march · kid · pitcher · ruler

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — the month
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. drill — army training
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. drill — the tool
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. perch — the fish
  21. drill — a practice
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. ruler — for measuring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com